Mizuho Financial's first profit in five quarters and the doubling of profit by its rival, Sumitomo Mitsui, signal that major Japanese banks are recovering from the economic crisis, albeit slowly, Reuters reported. Japanese lenders have suffered smaller credit losses than their Western rivals, but they have also taken longer to rebound, hampered by rock-bottom interest rates and dependence on domestic lending.

It represents JAL's worst first-half loss since it merged with Japan Air System in 2002. JAL also said sales for the half fell 28.8 percent to ¥763.9 billion compared with a year ago. Battered by the global financial crisis and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, Japan Airlines Corp. on Friday posted a hefty group net loss of ¥131.2 billion for the April-September half and said it has applied for out-of-court debt restructuring as a stopgap measure to stay aloft.

A construction company that reported to police it had employed Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the 2007 murder case of a British woman, has been experiencing contract terminations and suspensions, a company official said Friday. The company's business partners have been critical, saying it failed to thoroughly check their employees' identity, according to the official.

Chinese Internet forums are abuzz over an investment by Japanese investment company Softbank into a popular Chinese social networking site, state media reported Friday. After finding out about the venture, some users have closed their accounts on Renren.com, a social networking site popularly known as the Chinese Facebook, with some college students spreading the word among peers to delete their personal information on the site, China Daily reported.

Major sportswear maker Nike Japan will open its largest flagship store in the country in Tokyo's fashion Omotesando district this weekend. With the demand for running shoes and sportswear showing relatively steady growth despite the slow consumption, casual apparel manufacturers, including Uniqlo, have begun advancing into the sportswear market. To compete against the move, sports equipment suppliers are establishing new sales bases in stylish shopping areas in a bid to promote their high-fashion items.

Skynet Asia Airways Co. said Thursday it will start offering a discount one-way fare for foreign tourists from Dec. 1, enabling them to fly on all its eight domestic routes each at a flat rate of ¥10,000. The Visit Japan fare is up to 65 percent lower than regular fares. It is the first time a Japanese airline has offered a discount fare aimed only at tourists from abroad, according to the Miyazaki-based budget airline.

Over the years, Subaru, the automotive unit of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries, has carved out an image as a carmaker that goes its own way. While larger Japanese rivals have won plaudits for building reliable but sometimes dull cars, Subaru has specialized in making sporty all-wheel-drive cars and SUVs powered by turbocharged boxer engines.

American International Group Inc.'s Japan arm, at the center of the country's worst fiasco involving fraudulent use of credit cards, admitted Wednesday that 230,000 of its card-holding customers may have had their data leaked to unauthorized outsiders and a Chinese service provider may be involved. The significant leap from the 18,000 cases announced by Alico Japan in September came to light after the insurer expanded the scope of its internal investigation to other types of credit cards that were not subject to an earlier probe, company officials said in Tokyo.

Supermarket chain Aeon Co. has said it will sell Beaujolais Nouveau wines, set to be released nationwide Nov. 19, in 750-milliliter plastic bottles for as little as ¥980 at Jusco and other outlets to attract thrifty consumers. While the French red wine from the Beaujolais region generally retails for around 2,000 to ¥3,000 in Japan, Aeon said this will be the first time it has sold the product for less than ¥1,000.

Japan ranks 31st out of 35 countries in terms of the percentage of female board of directors, falling below Jordan, Oman and Kuwait, a U.S.-based nonprofit group said Tuesday. According to the latest report by Corporate Women Directors International, there are only 17 women among 1,198 directors in large Japanese companies.

Japan's government is finalizing a rescue plan for Japan Airlines Corp. which could see the former national carrier obtain bridge loans and reduce unfunded pension obligations, while it prepares to release its latest earnings report this week. Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii Tuesday hinted that the government's compilation of rescue measures could even be concluded by the time JAL reports its fiscal first-half earnings on Friday. "Based on common sense," he told reporters, the possibility "is likely."

Japanese air carrier All Nippon Airways plans to allow economy-class passengers to pay extra for business-class meals or use of ANA airport lounges, starting in December, according to a news report. ANA, which hopes the move will increase revenue by 1 billion yen ($11.1 million) a year, began offering snacks served in business class to economy passengers on a trial basis in October.

With its string of pastel pink beads and sparkly diamante clasp, the necklace would not look out of place in any Tokyo fashion store. However, this is no ordinary jewellery: Mixed inside the small clay beads are the cremated remains of deceased pets. A new company has been launched in Japan specializing in allowing bereaved owners of deceased pets to immortalize their ashes in the form of necklaces, bracelets, picture frames and even lamps.

Traveling at up to 300 kph and boasting an impeccable safety record, the Shinkansen exemplifies Japan's technological prowess. It could also become a new frontier in the U.S-Japan partnership. With the Obama administration committed to developing high-speed rail, and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) looking to achieve a more equal relationship with the United States, the time is ripe for bilateral cooperation on an American shinkansen.

Japan Airlines (JAL) said Monday its executives would receive no pay in December as the struggling carrier needs to cut costs in the face of massive losses. The move will affect JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu and some 70 other company officials, a spokesman for the airline said.

For Akio Toyoda, a man with a passion for sports cars, disbanding Toyota Motor's F1 team was a painful choice, but like a playboy billionaire who has hit hard times, his money-losing company had to empty its garage of the expensive toys. Toyota burns through $500 million a year to compete at the pinnacle of motor sports, and beyond a creaking trophy shelf, it has gained little from its involvement. It's not, however, going to be enough to stem Toyota's bleeding.

From their bases on opposite sides of the Pacific, Japanese and American menswear labels have begun to rip up the rule books and reinvent how men think about fashion. Long gone are the days when ostentatious Europeans, such as heavyweights Armani, Gucci and Dior Homme, dominated the industry.